Many devices exist in the field of the present invention that fulfill countless objectives with respect to cleaning sewer lines and drainpipes. None however fulfill the need for a safe and inexpensive device that is compact and effective in retrieving hair clogs from the upper portions of drainpipes found in the average home which are connected to sinks, tubs and showers.
A common problem that plagues people that use modern plumbing is the inevitable development of clogs that develop in the drainpipes connected to sinks, bathtubs and showers. These clogs may result from objects accidentally being dropped down a drain, but more typically are the result of a build-up of the soaps, oils, greases, hair and other organic material that is washed down the drain. Individuals skilled in the art and even the average homeowner are familiar with devices and methods used to try to open clogged drains. These include flexible plungers, metal plumber's snakes and numerous chemical and biological substances readily available in supermarkets and hardware stores. Plungers use air and water pressure to push and pull at the clog to dislodge it and allow it to freely flow out of the pipe and into the sewer system. Snakes are typically coils of flattened metal with a spiral wire on the end that are inserted into the drain to break through a clog by forcibly pushing, pulling and twisting to mechanically degrade the clog and allow it to flow freely into the sewer system. Chemical liquids and crystalline sodas chemically react with the clog, degrading or liquefying it until it flows freely into the sewer system.
These devices are often effective in freeing clogged drains but do not offer a consistent solution to opening clogged drains that are largely a result of an accumulation of hair that typically occurs in the trap and especially hair that becomes entangled in the drain pop-up lever arm assembly just below the drain pop-up in the opening of the drain. The current invention departs from concepts and designs of the prior art by embodying a device that is compact and capable of reliably and effectively removing such hair clogs from the upper portions of drains.
Each device of the current art is seen to be deficient in providing a solution for these upper-drain hair clogs upon examination. Plungers that utilize air or water pressure to dislodge clogs in drains do not reliably dislodge hair clogs because the pressurized air or water force is not great enough to break hair away from solid, fixed protrusions within the drainpipe. The hair that is entangled around a fixed object, primarily the drain pop-up lever arm, is a case in point. In addition, the hair that has become embedded in encrustment or build-up that has accumulated within the pipe in the drain trap or along the pipe wall are additional examples.
The common plumber's snake is another device of the prior art that is effective in breaking up drain clogs by repeated forcible insertion and retrieval of the device in the drain. These however have the drawbacks of being large and unwieldy for the average homeowner and often cannot be used for upper-drain clogs or those occurring from the drain opening to the trap because the drain opening around the peripheral area of the drain pop-up of a sink is not large enough to accommodate the metal spiral end of the snake. Smaller spiral-tipped sink snakes are available but still very unwieldy and not adept at snagging hair entangled around the drain pop-up lever arm. In addition, most of these devices are metal and subject to rust and corrosion. Specialized upper-drain snake devices do currently exist in the prior art, and in the marketplace, which are designed to be small enough to fit past the drain stopper in the drain opening of the typical sink. These devices each have disadvantages not present in the present invention. They are either unsafe for the user because of sharp edges, or have wire hooks which can get hooked on the pop-up lever arm, or they are not compact making them inconvenient to store or transport. These devices usually have length and cannot be coiled in a stationary fashion, which means a homeowner cannot store them in a drawer or the artisan cannot transport then in a toolbox due to their length. This is also a disadvantage in commercial sale since these devices cannot readily be packaged with the shelf size drain products that they work hand-in-hand with to provide a complete drain cleaning solution. These devices also have fewer hair-snagging elements than the present invention reducing their ability to snag, and hold, drain hair by comparison.
Homeowners typically resort to caustic chemical products to open clogged drains. These are often effective in chemically “burning away” drain clogs but have the disadvantages of being dangerous to people, pets and the environment. The caustic ingredients in these remedies often contain sodium hypochlorite (bleach), sodium hydroxide (lye) or acid. These chemicals are responsible for a multitude of human poisonings annually as well as eye, lung and flesh injuries from their use and existence in the household. These chemicals are readily available in most all grocery and hardware stores and are the easiest for the homeowner to use. Consequently, the large, cumulative volume that enters our sewage systems represents a hazard to the environment as the chemicals are not readily broken down in sewage treatment plants and flow out into the environment, adding unwanted and detrimental pollutants. In addition, the chemical solutions often flow by hair clogs that are wrapped around the drain pop-up lever arm and are suspended in the center of the drainpipe where the liquids cannot effectively work on them.
Biological drain opening products are also readily available to homeowners in stores and also represent an easy-to-use drain maintenance solution for homeowners. They typically come in a liquid or powder form that the homeowner simply washes down the drain similar to chemical products. These solutions have the benefit of ease of use without the danger of injury to people, pets and the environment. They work by utilizing natural and harmless live bacteria and enzymes that feed on the organic drain refuse and break it down to base elements in the same way that nature recycles refuse in the environment. These types of products hold out the hope of effective drain maintenance for the individual diligent in home maintenance and family safety. They also represent a benefit to society by replacing the chemicals that cause injury to people and damage to the environment. Unfortunately one drawback of biological products is that they are less effective for rapid treatment of hair-clogged drains. By not being able to readily free slow flowing drains due to hair clogs, biological drain products are less popular in the marketplace and consequently consumers more frequently purchase the dangerous and harmful chemical products to open drains to the detriment of society in general.
The present invention plays a vital role in solving the societal problem of using injurious caustic chemical drain opener products. It fulfills the need for a compact device for effectively clearing drain hair clogs. As a stand-alone device it fulfills the need for a safe, effective and easily stowable device for a homeowner to immediately and easily open up a slow-running, hair-clogged drain by retrieving the hair clogs that often occur in them.
The present invention also fills a void that currently exists in the prior art by representing a device that enhances and facilitates the use of people-friendly and environment-friendly biological drain maintenance products. By providing a compact and inexpensive device for clearing the hair clogs that biological products do not effectively eliminate, the present invention can readily be packaged with these products making them a more effective and attractive solution to opening clogged drains without the societal problem of exposing people to dangerous chemicals and harming the environment. Nothing found in the prior art or the marketplace combines the attributes of compactness, safety to the user and hair-snagging effectiveness like that of the present invention.
Consequently, the present invention represents a substantial departure from all the current concepts and designs in the prior art and includes many novel features and embodiments resulting in a new device for cleaning hair clogs from drains.